Test Your EFO Knowledge: 2024 Issues

The top two rows above are easy to recognize as inverts. The Liberia (top left), Nyassa (top right) and Persia (second row, the two stamps at the right) are all bicolor issues the design of which consist of a center and a frame. Each color requires a separate pass through the printing equipment. A problem causes the paper to be flipped between the two passes, and one of the colors is printed upside down. The leftmost stamp in the middle row is also an invert, but not for the same reason. It is bicolor, although both colors are different shades of green. Most of the design is in one shade and the medallion showing the head of Charles Lindberg is in another shade. If the issue was due to a simple flip of the paper, then the medallion would be upside down at the lower right of the stamp, similar to this one:

So, it was not a simple flip of the paper. What was then the problem? It is likely an intentionally created variety. We reviewed the set of stamps from which this one was taken in an earlier quiz, see here.

The third row is trickier. In the leftmost example, the issue is with the cancel. You will notice that the date at the center is reversed with respect to the circular text inside of the circle.

It gets even trickier now. What is wrong with the center stamp of the third row? If you look really carefully, you will notice that the two digits "8" are upside down. One has to look really, really closely to notice that.

The rightmost stamp is also difficult. You will not realize that the plate number, "27025", is also inverted. So, there are many things that can be inverted when one examines a stamp or other philatelic object. Have fun finding all the inverts in your collections.

The story featuring these stamps appeared in the April-June 2014 issue of The EFO Collector.